Celebrity Estates: Cross-Border Estate Planning Lessons with Martin Behn

Why It Matters

Cross‑border estate planning determines how wealth is transferred and taxed for globally mobile clients, directly affecting their net legacy and compliance risk.

Key Takeaways

• Identify all global assets first
• Tax treaties dictate tax jurisdiction
• Multiple jurisdiction documents often required
• Forced-heirship rules pose planning risks
• Citizenship vs residency vs domicile affect taxes

Pulse Analysis

The surge in international mobility among ultra‑high‑net‑worth individuals has turned estate planning into a multi‑jurisdictional puzzle. Advisors must begin with a comprehensive inventory of assets—real estate, securities, digital holdings, and business interests—regardless of where they are held. This global snapshot not only satisfies reporting obligations under FATCA and CRS but also provides the foundation for selecting the most favorable legal regime. As families acquire property and citizenship across borders, the complexity of coordinating probate, trust administration, and tax filings escalates dramatically.

Tax treaties and choice‑of‑law rules become the linchpin of cross‑border strategies. By leveraging bilateral agreements, planners can often avoid double taxation, but they must carefully assess which country’s estate or inheritance tax applies based on residency, domicile, or citizenship status. Forced‑heirship statutes in civil‑law jurisdictions, for example, can override a testator’s wishes, forcing a portion of the estate to designated heirs. Understanding the nuanced differences between citizenship, residency, and domicile is essential to structuring trusts—such as GRATs, CRTs, ILITs, or generation‑skipping trusts—that align with both client objectives and local legal constraints.

Practically, successful cross‑border planning demands a coordinated team of tax advisors, attorneys, and fiduciaries across relevant jurisdictions. Clients should prioritize establishing trusts in favorable jurisdictions while ensuring compliance with reporting requirements in their home country. Advanced structures like intentionally defective grantor trusts can provide flexibility and mitigate estate‑tax exposure. As global wealth continues to grow, the market for specialized cross‑border estate services will expand, making proactive, integrated planning a competitive advantage for wealth‑management firms.